


You Can’t Take Me Anywhere

by Jackir30



Category: natewantstobattle
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:00:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28245078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jackir30/pseuds/Jackir30
Summary: BASED OFF OF “ALL I SEE” Music VideoNathan Sharp is a survivor of the Hallucina-Puff Memory Gas (HPMG) overdose and has to overcome the trauma that came with it.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains suicidal actions, please read at your own risk!

Nate looked out at the city skyline as he rode the monorail home from his now ex-girlfriend Jessica’s apartment. A tear strolling down his face as he played around with the promise ring that he had given her when they first started dating, wondering what went wrong. He thought that he was going to get down on one knee and ask for her hand in marriage one day, possibly sometime this year. But for some reason, for which she couldn’t tell him, he just wasn’t enough for her. 

“It has nothing to do with you, I promise…” Was all he could remember her saying. He couldn’t help but laugh at that statement through his tears. He has heard that same exact excuse from far too many people in his life, whether it was friends, families or exes. He knew it had something to do with him, it seemed to always be that way for anybody who has ever gotten to know him. He knew he was a burden, nobody had the guts to tell him though. He would have preferred that they say it right to his face instead of having him figure it out himself. Perhaps it would have hurt less, maybe it wouldn’t have. 

As the monorail arrived at his station he slowly got up and walked back to his apartment. He pulled his hoodie up over his head to avoid eye contact with anybody, but he knew people would continuously glance at him. Why is someone wearing a hoodie on a nice, warm night like tonight? Perhaps he’s planning something… They don’t know the truth, that he just wants to be alone, but they assume the worst anyways. 

After what felt like hours of walking past the city streets and the big crowds all passing him, he finally made it into his apartment building. He took the elevator up to his floor and made it to his room. As he entered his apartment, he threw everything onto the ground. He looked around his apartment, finding no sign of his roommates anywhere. 

As he leaned over the railing and stared out into the city, he looked down at his promise ring again. He took it off of his finger and clutched it in his hand, which was now a fist. He threw his fist back and threw the ring onto the city streets, screaming as he released it from his grip, his scream silenced by all the background noise. 

He went back inside and slammed the balcony door shut, sitting on the couch, clasping his hair with his hands and sobbing. Moments later, he stopped crying as he looked to the room on his left. It was the room where the Hallucina-Puff Memory Gas (HPMG) chamber was. Him and his friends would go in there if they ever needed to ease their minds. It beat having actual drugs with them, because at least when they were finished, no harm would come to them. It was as if they were simply in a dream. 

He wanted to forget about tonight so badly. This seemed to be the only way. 

He walked into the room and began turning on the chamber. He chose the location he wanted to be at and the person he wanted to be with. He had his family and friends saved, as well as Jessica. He chose her and chose to go on the beach. The machine asked how long he wanted to be in there. Normally, he and his friends would only spend about an hour in there. But he wanted to be in there longer. 

A warning sign appeared:

WARNING: BEING CONTAINED IN THIS MACHINE FOR TOO LONG COULD RESULT IN SERIOUS, LONG-TERM EFFECTS!!

He exited off the warning sign. He didn’t care. He wanted to be away from reality so badly. 

The machine started and Nate stepped into the machine. After a couple moments, the gas began to do its job and Nate was dreaming. 

He opened his eyes, finding himself on the boardwalk looking out onto the ocean. As he looked over to his right, he noticed Jessica looking back at him and smiling. 

“Hey, are you okay?” Jessica asked.  
Nate immediately teared up and hugged her tightly, “I thought I had lost you!”  
Jessica smiled and hugged him back, “You will never lose me as long as we’re here.”  
Nate looked at her through tears and smiled, “Then I won’t ever leave. I promise!” 

Jessica smiled and the two of them began walking on the boardwalk, enjoying the scenery of the beach next to them and enjoying the crowds riding rides and playing games on the other side of them. He felt Jessica pull him over to one of the games. It was the water game where they had to shoot the target and be the first to win. He quickly took out a five dollar bill and slammed it on the counter. Jessica sat down on one of the stools and he leaned in close to her, holding the water gun and aiming it at the target with her. 

“I think this is it!” Nate said. “We’re gonna get this!” 

The bell rang and Nate quickly pressed the trigger. As water came out, the water hit directly on the target. They watched as the doll attached to their pulley started going higher and higher. They looked over at the others, one wasn’t too far behind them and it looked like they might catch up. 

Suddenly, the bell rang again and the light above them blinked. They were the winners. 

Jessica and Nate looked at each other and smiled. Jessica hugged Nate and he hugged her back again. Jessica picked out a large bear as her prize and they continued walking down the boardwalk. 

“Okay, I really hope this fits inside of the car!” Jessica laughed.  
“I think it will!” Nate assured her.  
She smiled back and looked at him. “Nate, this was the most f… ever…”  
Nate looked at her confused, she could only hear muffling, “What did you say?”  
Jessica looked a bit less amused but repeated herself. But as she did, he noticed her beginning to glitch out. His heart began to race and he slowly backed away from her.  
“I-I don’t understand what’s going on?” Nate said as everything around him suddenly started to glitch.  
“Nate… you said you… leave me!” Jessica said through the glitching.  
“I-I’m not leaving you, I promise!” Nate responded. 

Moments later, everything went black around him. Everything was quiet.  
———  
Nate’s roommates, Hunter and Shawn entered the apartment. As they closed the apartment door, they could hear a loud beeping noise and could smell something burning. 

They quickly went to follow the sound of the beeping when they went into the HPMG room, where they found Nate inside of the chamber. Numerous alerts were blinking on the screen and the smell of burning gas was coming out of the chamber. 

“NATE!” Shawn immediately screamed. They quickly rushed over to try and manually turn off the machine or pry the door open, but nothing was working.  
“SHAWN! UNPLUG THE CHAMBER!” Hunter shouted.  
Shawn went behind the chamber and unplugged it. Everything within the room turned off and the beeping stopped. Everything went dark.  
Hunter took out his phone and turned on the flashlight, which was their only light source apart from the hallway light.  
“I can’t get the fucking door open!” Hunter exclaimed. 

Shawn quickly ran out and got a large kitchen knife from the counter and put it in the lock. After a couple of attempts, the door finally unlocked and Nate’s body began to fall to the ground but Hunter caught him. They noticed Nate was hardly breathing and he was extremely pale. 

“Shit! We gotta get him to a hospital!” Hunter said. Shawn quickly went out and called for help. Hunter tried waking Nate up, but he wouldn’t respond. 

“C’mon man… you better not do this to us!” Hunter said, beginning to tear up. “I don’t know what in the hell happened, but you’re not going like this!” 

Hunter looked down at Nate’s body, trying to see if anything was damaged. He then noticed that there was no sign of a ring on his hands. He knew Nate always wore that ring on his finger ever since he got it for him and his girlfriend. He knew then something was up. 

Moments later, several paramedics rushed into the room. 

“Is this where you found him?” One paramedic asked.  
“Yeah… he was inside of the chamber!” Shawn explained.  
“Alright, we have a possible HPMG overdose.” Another paramedic phoned in.  
“A what?” Hunter asked.  
“When a victim stays in the chamber for too long.” The same paramedic explained. “How long was he in there for?”  
“W-We don’t know!” Shawn said. “We just got home and that’s when we found him.” 

The paramedics finished strapping Nate up before rushing him out of the apartment, Shawn and Hunter quickly following behind, hoping that this wouldn’t be the last time they saw their friend.

Hunter and Shawn spent the next several hours in the emergency room waiting room. The two of them were both silent as they waited on any news of Nate. 

“I had no idea that you could overdose from something like this.” Shawn said.   
“Neither did I.” Hunter responded. He thought back to the moment he discovered the missing ring on Nate’s hand. “But… I think I know what may have caused it.”   
Shawn gave Hunter a confused look, “You think he did this on purpose?” Shawn asked.   
Hunter shrugged, “I don’t know, I’m just saying I think I know why he went into the chamber to begin with.”   
“What do you think?” Shawn asked.   
“Something must have happened between Nate and Jessica. Because I didn’t see any signs of a ring in his hand.” Hunter claimed. “And you know he’s always worn it since they first started dating.   
Shawn just looked ahead at the wall, knowing that Hunter could be right, but he didn’t want to come to that conclusion. “Alright, well, no matter what it may be, we shouldn’t question him about it when, or if, he wakes up.”   
“But he does owe us some sort of explanation.” Hunter said.   
“I know he does.” Shawn responded. “But we need to wait and give him some time before he tells us anything.”   
Hunter nodded in agreement.

Just then, they noticed a doctor approaching them. 

“Well, the good news is, we were able to stabilize him.” The doctor explained. “The bad news is, he suffered some major brain damage from taking on too much of the fumes. Normally the gas is harmless, but if anybody is in there for too long, it can potentially be fatal. Therefore, we had to put him into a coma so the body and brain can do its job to be able to function properly again.”   
“And how long will that last?” Hunter asked.  
“Usually it lasts about a week or two.” The doctor explained. “But even after he wakes up, he may experience some trauma or severe effects from the gas. You need to look after him at all costs when he can finally be discharged.”   
Shawn and Hunter looked at each other before looking at each other and nodding.   
“May we see him?” Hunter asked.   
“We’re finishing up settling him in his room. We’ll come back and let you know.” The doctor said.  
“Thank you, doctor.” Shawn said before the doctor walked off. 

“This means we may have to leave the apartment for a while until he can fully recover.” Hunter said. “To keep him away from the chamber.”   
Shawn nodded, “I think it’s for the best. We both need to get away from that place as well. We’re both equally as guilty with using that machine.”   
“But where will we go?” Hunter asked.   
Shawn shrugged. “I guess we’ll try and find a place away from the city. Until then, we just stay here.”   
Hunter nodded, “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.” 

Moments later, a nurse went over to them and finally gave them permission to see Nate. 

As they entered the room, the two of them froze as they saw Nate laying in a bed in a coma, with different machines attached to his body and different tubes running through it as well. 

This was how he would be for the next week and a half.


	2. Side effects

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter mentions suicidal actions and also has one of the characters suffer an epileptic seizure.

For the next week and a half, Shawn and Hunter would stay at the hospital with Nate. The hospital was kind enough to give them a place to stay so that they wouldn’t have to go back home to their apartment. Sometimes, they would go back there to pack up some things but they would go right back to the hospital. 

Throughout that week and a half, Nate would make progress. His vitals would stabilize and he would finally be able to breathe on his own again, so doctors were able to remove the oxygen tube from his throat. Eventually, the tubes and wires attached to his body would no longer be there and he would look like himself again. 

Finally, Nate would wake up. 

As Nate woke up, he looked over noticing Shawn and Hunter immediately light up as they noticed him waking up. 

“Nate… hey!” Shawn quietly said.   
“H-Hey…” Nate responded, his voice hoarse from not having spoken in nearly eleven days. 

Hunter decided to go and get water for him. As Shawn watched Hunter leave, he looked back at Nate. 

“How do you feel?” Shawn asked.   
“I-I dunno…” Nate shrugged. “Tired, maybe?”   
Shawn hesitated but then asked, “What’s the last thing you remember?” 

Nate tried to recollect as much as he could of what he did before he blacked out. He didn’t remember going into the chambers at all. 

“I… I went into the apartment.” Nate said. “And… that’s all I remember.”   
Shawn nodded, “It’s alright if you don’t remember.”   
“Wait, what happened after that?” Nate asked.   
“We don’t know.” Shawn shrugged. “That’s why we wanted to ask you.”   
“Well, you clearly know something, otherwise I wouldn’t be in here…” Nate said. 

As Hunter walked back into the room, the two of them fell silent again. Hunter stood there for a moment, looking at the two of them. 

“What were we talking about?” Hunter asked.  
“Just… how he felt and stuff.” Shawn said.   
Hunter nodded, setting down the drink on the tray for Nate. He quickly grabbed the styrofoam cup and drank from the straw.   
“Don’t drink it too quickly.” Shawn said. “Don’t work up your body too much already.”   
Nate stopped drinking as he looked back at the two of them, “How long have I been out?” He asked.   
Shawn and Hunter looked at each other and then looked back at Nate, “For about a week and a half.” Hunter responded.   
Nate’s eyes widened and his heart raced a bit, “What the fuck happened to me?”   
Shawn sighed, “That’s what we want to know from you… we found you inside the HPMG chamber.” He explained. “Apparently you stayed in there too long and overdosed on the gas.” 

As Shawn explained that to him, Nate’s memories from before he blacked out suddenly seemed to snap back into him, including memories of Jessica. Nate looked at his hand, which was shaking almost uncontrollably, finding no sign of the ring on his finger. The memory of him throwing it over the balcony was true. 

“Nate… is everything alright?” Hunter asked. 

As Nate looked at the two of them, tears formed in his eyes, “I… I fucked up, you guys…”   
Hunter and Shawn sat on the bed with him, Hunter patting his shoulder and gently shaking him, “Hey… it’s okay dude, you’re alright now. We’re here for you.”   
“No… it’s not okay…” Nate said. “Jessica ended things with me last night… or a week and a half ago… and I was so in denial and so… lost with everything that I didn’t want to escape the chamber.”   
“What do you mean by escape?” Shawn asked.   
“I spent over two hours in there…” Nate explained. “And I completely ignored the warning signs. I just wanted to be happy.” 

Shawn looked up at Hunter, knowing he was right about what had happened between him and Jessica. 

“I basically tried to kill myself…” Nate continued. “I didn’t even bother thinking about you guys, I thought my life was over…”   
“You’re recognizing everything that’s happened to you, and that’s a good thing.” Shawn assured him. “Knowing what you did, and showing remorse from it, means that you’ve learned from it.” 

Nate didn’t feel any sort of relief or encouragement from what Shawn had said. He didn’t feel like he’s learned anything from being stuck in the chamber for so long. If anything, it made him feel more guilty. It also made him scared of what would happen if he told the truth to any doctors. 

“If I tell the doctors that I basically tried to end my life, I’ll be sent to a mental hospital…” Nate said.   
“You don’t have to tell them anything you told us if you don’t want to…” Hunter assured him. “They seem to think it’s all an accident, so try and keep it that way.” 

A couple moments later, the same doctor they talked to before entered the room. He had a look of relief and satisfaction on his face. 

“Mr. Sharp! It’s good to see you awake!” The doctor smiled, shaking his hand. “We were scared of what would come of this situation, but it seemed to have turned out okay so far.”   
“I’m still not fully understanding everything that’s happened to me.” Nate fibbed, looking at Shawn and Hunter.   
“Well, I can explain everything to you in full detail as we go through your evaluation.” The doctor stated. “Since we were unable to do so when you were unconscious.” 

The doctor then looked over at both Shawn and Hunter, “If you could please step out into the hallway, this shouldn’t take more than a couple minutes.” 

Shawn and Hunter both nodded as they went into the hallway. 

Shawn gave Hunter a stern look in the hallway.   
“What is it?” Hunter asked.   
“You told Nate not to tell the doctors about how he basically wanted to commit suicide?” Shawn asked.   
“Shawn, if he mentions anything about that they will force him into a mental institution against his will.” Hunter said. “I know that’s not something he wants.”   
“But if it’s something that will help him overcome whatever he is going through, then he needs that help.” Shawn explained.   
“Yeah, and you wanted us to take it slow explaining everything to Nate.” Hunter sarcastically remarked. “Yet as soon as he woke up, there you were spilling the beans.”   
“I didn’t expect him to want to know everything so soon.” Shawn responded.   
“What do you expect to hear from somebody who was in a coma?” Hunter argued.   
Shawn sighed, “Alright fine, we’ll let Nate decide what he wants to do. If he decides to get help, fine, if he doesn’t, then whatever.”   
———  
“So how have you been feeling since you woke up?” The doctor asked Nate.   
“A bit tiredI guess, even though I basically slept for a week.” Nate said.   
“Even though it feels like you’re sleeping, you’re really not.” The doctor responded. “Which explains why your body may seem or feel tired.” 

Nate wanted to bring up the gas from the HPMG chambers and ask how it affected his body, but he decided not to go that route. Instead, he asked a much simpler question. 

“So… what exactly happened to me?” Nate asked.   
“It seems that you have suffered an HPMG overdose. It’s quite rare because of how the machine functions, but the effects can be severe if you stay in it for too long.” The doctor explained.

Nate knew he would be asked about how long he was in the chamber, so he lied, “I… thought I had set the machine for at least a half hour.”   
“Has your machine ever faced that sort of problem before?” The doctor asked.   
Nate shrugged, “Not that I can remember.” 

The doctor was silent as he typed on the computer. As Nate waited for the doctor to speak again, he suddenly saw flash images in his head. It was the flash images from when he was on the beach with Jessica. 

“Doctor… I’m…” was all Nate could say before he suddenly blacked out. 

As Shawn and Hunter continued waiting outside, they could suddenly hear the doctor yelling from inside the room. Seconds later, several other nurses rushed into the room. Hunter and Shawn quickly rushed in to see what was happening, and they could see Nate seizing uncontrollably. 

One of the nurses caught them inside of the room and quickly escorted them out. 

After about five minutes, the nurses calmly left the room and the doctor followed not too far behind, stopping as he noticed the boys. 

“What happened?” Shawn asked.   
“It seems that Mr. Sharp suffered a seizure.” The doctor explained. “This is one of the side effects he may suffer from the overdose. We sedated him with some medication and hopefully that will help.”   
“How often do you think that will happen?” Hunter asked.   
“I’m going to keep him monitored for another twenty four to forty-eight hours to try and get a good estimate, however they could happen at any time.” The doctor said.   
“What about as far as an actual cause?” Hunter asked.   
“It seems as if there was a glitch or malfunction in your machine that may have possibly caused it.” The doctor said. “I would advise you get somebody to remove or repair it as soon as possible.”   
“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of it, thank you.” Shawn said.   
The doctor nodded and walked away. 

They walked back in the room and saw Nate unconscious on the hospital bed. 

“So based off of what the doctor told us, it doesn’t look like he wants that help you mentioned earlier.” Hunter told Shawn.   
“Honestly at this point, I don’t really care.” Shawn responded. “I just want Nate to get better and to get him out of here.” 

Hunter nodded in agreement, “Same here buddy, same here.”


	3. New Start

After another several days passed, Nate was finally able to be released. His seizures happened less frequently as the doctor prescribed him medication. Shawn and Hunter grew especially relieved knowing their friend could finally leave this place. 

As Shawn and Hunter were waiting down in the lobby of the hospital, Shawn’s phone rang. He walked away from Hunter so he could answer it. Hunter watched as Shawn answered his call, but then the doctor approached him. 

“Mr. Sharp should be down any moment.” The doctor explained. He handed Hunter a small paper bag. “Inside that bag is his medication in case he has another seizure. If they become frequent, let us know as soon as possible.”   
“Thank you so much for all your help, doc.” Hunter responded.   
The doctor nodded, “It’s what I’m here for. And I am very happy to see Mr. Sharp back on his feet again after everything he’s been through.”   
“We are both very happy too.” Hunter said.   
“Has anything been done about the chamber just yet?” The doctor asked. 

Hunter didn’t know how to answer that. He looked over at Shawn, who was still on the phone. He didn’t want to say that they were just leaving the city, because the doctor might get suspicious of Nate’s intentions. 

Finally, Hunter spoke, “We actually weren’t able to get in touch with them yet. But until we do and we get it removed, we’re going to reside in a hotel room I think.”   
The doctor nodded, “Good. I’m sure with the EMTs having to break Nate out of there, there will probably be a leak of some kind.” The doctor explained. “And even though the gas is harmless, I don’t want that to potentially harm Mr. Sharp in any way,”   
“Don’t worry, we‘ve got it covered.” Hunter assured him.   
The doctor nodded, “Well, I wish all three of you the best of luck and I hope Nate recovers fully.”   
“Thank you.” Hunter said before the doctor walked away. 

As the doctor turned the corner, Shawn went back over to him. 

“Who were you talking to?” Hunter asked.   
“My friend.” Shawn responded. “He says that he’s got room in his place for us to stay however long we need to.”   
“Oh… good!” Hunter said. “Where does he live?”   
“He lives a couple miles east of the city.” Shawn explained. “He said he’ll come and pick us up from the station in about an hour.”   
“Well, glad that’s finally covered.” Hunter said. “Now it’s just telling Nate what we plan on doing.”   
“I’m sure he’ll be fine with it.” Shawn said. “Besides, it’s not just for him. We agreed it’d be for all of us.”   
Hunter nodded. 

About a minute later, a nurse wheeled Nate out of an elevator in a wheelchair and came down the hall and into the lobby. Nate smiled as he saw his friends. The nurse stopped and let him stand up. 

“You need any help?” Shawn asked.   
“No, I’m alright.” Nate said. “I just want to get out of here.”   
“As do we.” Hunter agreed. 

The three of them walked out of the hospital. Shawn looked over at Hunter and he nodded. 

“Although, we aren’t going home…” Shawn said.   
“What do you mean?” Nate asked.   
“With what you told us, we thought it would be better if we left the city until we know you’re fully recovered.” Hunter explained.   
“Where the hell are we going then?” Nate asked.   
“A friend of mine from outside of the city said that we could stay at his place for as long as we need to.” Shawn said.   
“Alright, and what’s this supposed to do?” Nate asked.   
“We knew you didn’t want to go to a mental institution, so we figured this was the next best thing.” Hunter explained. “Besides, this isn’t just for you. We need to be away from that machine as well.”   
“You really think I would want to be in that chamber again after what happened to me?” Nate asked.   
“We just don’t want to risk it.” Shawn responded.   
“What about all our stuff?” Nate asked.   
“We’ve got it all taken care of already.” Hunter said.   
Nate sighed, “Alright, let’s go then.” 

Hunter, Shawn and Nate waited for a taxi to take them to the station. From there, they went onto the monorail that took them to a station by the entrance of the city, where they would get off. As the monorail was speeding through the city, memories of Nate riding the monorail flashed into his mind. He quickly shook it off. He didn’t want to be thinking about this stuff right now. 

Shawn looked over at Nate as he saw him shaking his head, “You alright?”   
Nate looked over at Shawn and nodded, “Yeah, just some unpleasant memories… that’s all.”   
“Well, this is gonna be a new start for all of us. We really need this right now.” 

A new start. Nate liked the thought, but as long as the memories of him and Jessica were engraved in his mind, he knew there could never be a new start. 

Moments later, the monorail stopped and the three of them stepped off the platform and headed for the terminal. As they reached the exit terminal, they noticed a man with red, curly hair and black, leather jacket approach them. 

Shawn smiled as they both hugged each other, “Hey man! How’ve you been?” Shawn asked.   
“Not too bad.” The man responded.   
Shawn looked back at Nate and Hunter, “Guys, this is Dan Rudd, no relation to the famous celebrity, unfortunately.”   
“Good to finally meet you guys.” Dan said. “Shawn has been telling me about everything you guys have been going through, and I figured I’d help.”   
“Well, we really appreciate it.” Hunter responded.   
“No problem.” Dan said. “Let’s get the hell out of here.” 

The three of them followed Dan to his car. It was a small, black convertible with the top still on it. It was nothing fancy like the cars in the city. Driving outside of the city felt even weirder. After driving through a tunnel connected to the city, there was nothing but land and a few houses every couple of blocks. 

“I know this all must feel pretty weird to you guys.” Dan said. “All the open land and absolutely no crowds whatsoever.”   
“I already love it!” Shawn said. “It seems so peaceful out here.”   
“I guess I could get used to it.” Hunter said. 

He looked over at Nate, who was asleep. 

“Yeah, that’s what hospitals will do to you.” Dan said. “I’m sure it’s been a rough few weeks for him.”   
“It’s been that way for all of us.” Hunter said.   
“We’re really going to need these next few days to just sit back and relax.” Shawn said.   
“Don’t worry, I’ve got you guys covered.” Dan assured them. 

Dan finally pulled up to his house, which was a two story ranch house with a balcony that wrapped around the front and back of his yard. 

“This is your house?” Hunter asked. “You live here by yourself?”   
“Yup.” Dan nodded. 

Shawn gently woke Nate up as they all got out of the car. Dan opened up the trunk of his car, which had all of their stuff. 

“How’d you get our stuff?” Hunter asked.   
“Whenever Shawn wasn’t at the hospital, he would pack up whatever he could.” Dan explained. “Then I came by last night and picked up the suitcases.”   
Hunter looked over at Shawn, “Well thanks for telling me.”   
Shawn just shrugged and gave a smile. 

Nate went over and tried to grab his suitcase, but Dan went and grabbed it, “I’ll get your stuff for you, you go inside and rest.” Nate wanted to respond, but he didn’t and just watched as Dan carried his stuff inside of the house for him.


	4. New Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Mention of seizures

The group then headed inside of the house. Their jaws dropped as he saw a large living room on the left side, and a doorway that lead into the kitchen and dining area on the other side. As they continued down the hallway in the living room, there was a second hallway that lead to a bedroom and a bathroom that was behind the dining area. Down the first hallway that lead to the living room, there were two bedrooms on one side, followed by a bedroom and a bathroom on the other side. 

“This place is awesome!” Hunter said.   
“Thank you!” Dan responded.  
“Are there… any assigned rooms?” Nate asked.   
“Just the one room down the second hallway, that one is mine.” Dan responded.   
Shawn and Hunter looked at Nate, “Which room do you want?” Shawn asked.   
Nate shrugged, “I guess I’ll take this one.” he said, pointing to the first room on his left.   
“Good choice.” Dan said as he opened the door. 

As Nate stepped inside of his new room, he noticed the walls were painted blue. On the right side of the room there was a queen sized bed with white blanket, sheets and an assortment of blue and white pillows. There were windows on the wall ahead of him, and on the left, far side of the wall near the window was a closet, and right across from the bed was a TV stand with drawers below it. 

“If you don’t like this room, we can go into one of the other ones.” Dan said.   
“No, this one is fine.” Nate said.   
“Alright, well why don’t you get some sleep now that you have an actual bed to sleep on?” Shawn suggested.   
“I’ll try.” Nate responded. 

Dan closed the door to his room and Nate just stood there, unsure of what to do. He took off his jacket and hung it up on the door handle. He then looked around and found the remote and turned the TV on. Some TV stations he had recognized from the city, but other ones he had never seen before. He decided to settle on a local channel he had recognized from the city before unraveling the sheets and climbing into the bed. His bed felt comfy, a little too comfortable. He wasn’t sure whether he liked it or not. But either way, he found himself quickly falling asleep again.   
———  
Shawn and Hunter quietly got settled into their rooms before meeting Dan out in the living room. 

“Wow, this house is really big.” Hunter said.   
“I take it you’re not used to this kind of stuff, huh?” Dan asked.   
“No, I grew up in the city my whole life.” Hunter explained. “I don’t ever think I’ve been outside of it before.”   
“Neither have I, but I’ve always wanted to.” Shawn said.   
“Well, you’re lucky you’ve got somebody like me.” Dan joked. “I lived in the city for most of my life but then I left.”   
“What made you decide to leave?” Hunter asked. 

Shawn looked over at Dan, Dan grew a bit more serious after Hunter asked that question. 

“Do you want the fun answer or the serious answer?” Dan asked Hunter.   
“What do you mean?” Hunter asked. 

Shawn sighed and turned to Hunter, “There’s a reason why we came here, not just to get Nate away from the city.”   
———  
Nate opened his eyes, having not remembered falling asleep at all. He looked over at the time, it was 4 in the afternoon. He slept for at least four hours. He knew that unless he wanted to fuck up his sleep schedule, he should probably get up. 

As he got out of bed, flashes started appearing in his head. It wasn’t like those weird little sparkles that appear and give people a dizzy feeling when they get up too fast, it looked like flash images. He couldn’t make it out at first, but it seemed to be images of a park. 

They were flash images of Nate when he was inside the HPMG chamber again. He knew at any moment, he was going to seize up again. 

He got off of the bed and started walking towards the door but before he could do so, the flash images kept getting more vivid and began to last longer. He even forgot where he truly was at one point. 

Then, he fell over.  
———  
The boys heard a loud thud coming from the bedroom. Shawn and Hunter quickly stood up and went into Nate’s room, where he was seizing uncontrollably. Shawn quickly went in and laid him on his side while Hunter quickly went and grabbed Nate’s medicine. 

Dan went over to Shawn. 

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Dan asked.   
“No, his seizures should stop any moment.” Shawn said. 

After another moment, Nate stopped shaking, he was breathing loudly and slowly opened his eyes. As he turned his head, he noticed Shawn and Dan by his side. 

“D-Did it happen again?” Nate asked.   
“Yeah.” Shawn nodded. 

Shawn slowly helped Nate up to his feet, “You good?”   
“I think so…” Nate said. 

Hunter then came back into the room with a cup of water and medicine and Nate took it. 

“How long and how often are these seizures?” Dan asked.   
“They can happen at any time, and they usually last a minute or two.” Shawn explained. “Luckily, Nate seems to recover from it afterwards as if nothing happened.”   
“I’m guessing this is a side effect to the overdose.” Dan guessed.   
Nate nodded, “I usually see flash images in my head, and then I just completely black out. I tried to get up and warn you guys, but it didn’t really work.”   
“Maybe we should stay close to you.” Shawn suggested. “Just in case you begin to have a seizure you can warn us beforehand.”   
“That’s a good idea.” Hunter said.   
Nate shook his head, “No, I don’t need that. I’ll feel like I have a bodyguard or something and it’ll look awkward.”   
“Well, you need it right now.” Shawn said. “Maybe as time goes by and if it happens less, you won’t need us around all that much.”   
“So what? Are we doing this in shifts or something?” Hunter asked.   
“Maybe we can do it daily.” Shawn said. “I’ll watch over him tonight, Hunter can do it tomorrow and if Dan wants to do it, he’ll do it the day after.”   
“I-If you don’t mind, I can do it tonight and tomorrow.” Dan said. “Give you both a bit of a break after all this craziness.”   
“It’s okay, I can do it tonight.” Shawn assured him.   
“No, I’m perfectly okay with doing it.” Dan responded. “All I need to do is give him the medicine, right?”   
“Yeah, pretty much…” Hunter said.   
“Alright then, I’m good.” Dan said. 

Nate changed the subject, “Alright, enough about me and my needs, is anybody else hungry?”   
Hunter and Shawn nodded, “Yeah, I could definitely use something to eat.” Hunter said.   
“I can take you guys to a nearby diner if you’re hungry.” Dan said. 

The three of them nodded and they decided to go out and get some food.


	5. Tremors

The group arrived at the diner and took a seat inside one of the booths. As they looked around, they noticed the place surprisingly empty with only a few spots taken. 

“I take it you’re not used to seeing a diner so empty either, huh?” Dan asked.   
“It’s actually pretty nice.” Hunter said.   
“And quiet.” Shawn added. 

An older looking waitress with brown hair pulled up in a small bun approached the booth.

“Why hello, Daniel! I haven’t seen you in quite a few days!” The waitress smiled.   
“Yeah, I’ve got company with me for a bit.” Daniel said. He turned to the rest of the group, “This is Shawn, Hunter and Nate.”   
“Nice to meet you all, my name is Carolyn.” The waitress responded. “Can I get you boys something to drink?”   
“I’ll take Diet Cola” Dan started.   
“Make that two!” Hunter added.   
“I’ll just have water.” Shawn said.   
“Yeah, I think I’ll have water too.” Nate said. “Just to be safe.” 

Carolyn smiled and nodded as she walked away from the booth.

“You and Carolyn must be good friends.” Hunter said, jokingly winking at him.   
Dan chuckled, “Yeah I’m a regular here. I don’t really cook much.”   
“Neither do we.” Hunter said. “I wouldn’t mind coming here for food all the time.”   
“It’s also really cheap here compared to the city.” Dan added. “The most expensive thing here is like ten dollars.”   
Hunter looked over at Shawn, “Damn, this really was a good idea!” 

The group shared a laugh before Carolyn came back over to the table, handing out glasses with the water and Diet Cola. Each of them grabbed their drink. Dan’s hand started shaking uncontrollably as he grabbed his soda, sending it spilling all over himself and on the table, almost spilling on Nate as he was sitting next to him. 

The three of them just stared at Dan as he placed the drink down on the table. Hunter and Shawn looked at each other and Nate looked at Dan with concern. 

“Are you alright, dude?” Nate asked.   
“Yeah, my hand shakes a lot sometimes.” Dan responded, somewhat embarrassed.   
“I’ve never seen it shake like that until now.” Shawn said.   
“It happens randomly throughout the day.” Dan said. “Sometimes it’s small, sometimes… it’s like this.” 

He holds his hands out, showing them shaking pretty hard. 

Carolyn noticed the mess and walked back over to the both. 

“Oh Daniel, are your tremors acting up again?” Carolyn asked.   
Dan sighed, “Yeah I guess they are.”   
“Here, I’ll clean that up for you and get you anothe soda.” Carolyn told him.   
“No, no I can clean it up.” Daniel assured her. “I appreciate it, though.”   
“Are you sure?” Carolyn asked.   
“Yeah, absolutely!” Dan nodded. 

Carolyn hesitated but then walked away from the booth. Dan grabbed some napkins from the table next to them and started wiping everything down. 

“Carolyn seems so sweet.” Shawn said.   
“She really is.” Dan responded as he finished cleaning up, “She’s one of the best people me and my family have ever known outside of the city.”   
“I hope you give her good tips.” Hunter said.   
“Always!” Dan said as he sat back down.

Carolyn came back to the booth with a larger cup with a straw and lid on it. 

“There you go, so you don’t spill and lose your drink again.” Carolyn smiled.   
“Thank you, Carolyn.” Dan responded. 

Carolyn decided to take their food orders before walking away from the booth again. Dan took his cup and sipped through the straw. 

Hunter giggled, “It’s a mega kiddy cup.”   
Shawn hit Hunter on the arm and scolded him at his response.   
“Yeah, it almost does look like that, doesn’t it?” Dan responded.   
“Sorry Dan,” Shawn said. “Hunter can be a bit inappropriate at times.”   
“No need to be sorry.” Dan said. “It doesn’t bother me. You gotta learn to laugh at some of this stuff, right?”   
Dan hit Shawn back, “Yeah Shawn! C’mon!” He exclaimed. 

Nate smiled as he saw his friends joking around again. I don’t think he’s been able to see them actually joke around for almost a month. They were too busy worrying about him, and whether he would survive or not, as well as taking care of him whenever he has any seizures. He couldn’t help but feel guilty for taking those happy moments away from them for that amount of time. 

Nate decided to leave the booth and walk over to the bathroom. The three of them watched as he went back there. 

Dan looked at the others, “I guess I should go back there and make sure nothing happens.” 

Shawn and Hunter nodded as Dan got out of the booth and followed Nate into the bathroom. As he opened the door, he saw Nate splashing himself with water and looking at himself in the mirror. 

“Are you alright?” Dan asked.   
Nate sighed, “I dunno man… I just feel guilty.”   
“About what?” Dan asked.   
Nate was silent for a moment but then spoke, “I haven’t really seen them that happy ever since my OD.” He explained. “I’ve pretty much taken a month's worth of their happiness because of a dumbass decision I made…We could have had more happy, laughable memories but instead I fucked up.”   
“Nate, don’t ever blame yourself or feel guilty over this kind of stuff.” Dan said. “There will always be moments in life where people will be happy one moment, sad the next, and those emotions can last a while, but they’ll never truly go away, no matter what the circumstances may be.”   
“I know, but I took it too far with my emotions.” Nate responded.   
“Yeah, you might have, but everyone does at some point.” Dan responded. “I’m sure Shawn and Hunter both have moments where they took their emotions too far as well.”   
“I bet it didn’t result in them wanting to kill themselves…” Nate mumbled.   
Dan shrugged, “I can’t really answer that because I’m not them. But what matters right now is that you’re here, and you’re able to experience that laughter and happiness with them, and you’ll be able to experience more in the future and without any guilt.” 

Nate was silent for a moment and then nodded, “Yeah, you’re right.”   
Dan patted Nate on the shoulder, “Alright, let’s get back out there and get some food.” 

Dan and Nate left the bathroom and went back into the booth, where their food arrived and they were all ready to eat. As Shawn, Hunter and Dan began to eat, Nate just sat there and stared down at his food, contemplating everything Dan told him in the bathroom. 

After a few minutes, Nate finally decided to start eating his food. Being able to finally eat real food again was one of the best feelings in the world. He wanted to savor this moment, but him and the others were just so hungry that they just couldn’t stop eating their food. 

Shawn, Hunter and Nate were both done eating in less than ten minutes. They both waited on Dan to finish his meal. His tremors slowed him from eating any quicker, but he didn’t seem phased by it at all. After a couple more minutes though, he finished. 

Carolyn walked over to the booth, “Any desserts for you boys?” 

Dan looked at the three of them. Nate could use something sweet, but he didn’t want to burden any of them if they weren’t up to it, especially Dan who was already struggling to eat his meal because of his hands. 

But then, Shawn responded. “Yeah I’m down!”   
“Same here!” Hunter exclaimed.   
Nate sighed, “I’ll have some I guess, but I think I’ll save it for when we get back.”   
“I think I’ll save mine as well.” Dan said.   
“That’s fine with us.” Shawn agreed. 

They gave their orders and moments later, Carolyn came back with their desserts that were boxed up and put into a bag and handed them the check. Dan immediately took it and offered to pay for it. 

After Dan went up and paid for the check, as well as leaving a big tip for Carolyn, the group left the restaurant and headed back to the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won’t be as active starting tomorrow (1/6) and into next Tuesday (1/12). Hopefully after then I will be writing and having another chapter ready for you guys, whether it’s this story or another story I am currently working on! 
> 
> Stay tuned!


	6. The Argument

When the group arrived back at Dan’s house, Hunter took the box out of the bag that had his dessert in it.   
“Really?” Shawn asked. “You’re already eating dessert?”  
“What? I’m still hungry!” Hunter said. “Y’all just wanted to go home so I decided to wait.”  
“Sorry.” Nate said, feeling guilty. “I was the one who suggested going home.”  
“No, it’s fine.” Dan assured him. “I think we’re all pretty beat after how much we ate.”  
Hunter took his dessert and put it on the coffee table, quickly opening it and eating it.   
“Oh my god, this cake is so good.” Hunter said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had something as good as this… ever!”  
“Not to brag, but we have better food than the city does.” Dan said.   
“You don’t have to say that twice.” Hunter responded. “That food was incredible!”  
“We can gladly go back there whenever you guys want.” Dan said. “I don’t make much food, and I don’t know about you guys.”  
“Every once in awhile.” Shawn said. “Especially whenever we were working, but we don’t have to worry about that for now.”  
“Yeah, just take this time to relax and take it easy.” Dan said. “You guys have been through a lot.”

Nate didn’t like hearing that. This wasn’t some vacation where they just decided to leave the city for the fun of it. Nate nearly died because of a stupid decision he made, and now they brought him here to make sure he recovers and doesn’t make the same mistake again. 

Nate looked over at Shawn, “How long do you think we’ll be here?”  
Shawn shrugged, “Until you’re fully recovered, or until it’s safe enough to go back to the apartments.”  
“What do you mean by that?” Nate asked.  
“Well, you know the doctors didn’t want you going back to the apartments, anyways.” Shawn explained. “But then they also told us that, even though the gas is technically harmless, it could still have an effect on you. Because of that, somebody is going to come and get rid of the chamber.”  
“You mean, we’re not going to have the chamber when we get back?” Nate asked.  
“It’s for the best.” Shawn nodded. “Not just for you, but for all of us.”  
Nate shook his head and got up, “No, don’t give me that crap.” Nate said. “It’s not for ‘all of you’, it’s only for ME, because I’m the one that overdosed inside that chamber. None of you did because you’re not stupid like me!”  
“Nate, none of us said you were stupid.” Shawn argued.  
“I knew full well what I was doing, and you guys know that.” Nate said. “I felt like my life was over after Jessica broke up with me, so I wanted to stay in that chamber, even if it killed me!”  
“Nate, the amount of times Hunter and I have wanted to stay in that chamber to escape reality for as long as we wanted to was so tempting.” Shawn explained. “So we get it, we understand what you were going through.”  
“At least you guys were sane enough to stop.” Nate mumbled before walking down the hallway and into his room.

Shawn looked over at Dan. He seemed uneasy after the argument he just watched, but he tried his best not to show it.  
“You alright?” Shawn asked.  
Dan sighed and nodded, “Yeah.” He then stood up. “I guess I should go in there to make sure he’s okay.”  
“You don’t have to do this if you don’t feel comfortable doing it.” Shawn said.   
“No, I want to. I’ll be alright.” Dan assured him as he walked down the hallway.  
Shawn looked over at Hunter, who just finished his dessert.  
“Glad to know you enjoyed that dessert.” Shawn scolded before going up and walking away.  
\----------  
Nate sat at the end of the bed and stared at the TV screen, which was just showing some random news station. He heard a soft knock on the door, but before he could respond, Dan slowly opened the door and entered.  
“I want to be alone…” Nate said.  
“I don’t want to risk you having a seizure.” Dan responded, holding up his pill bottles. “If it wasn’t me, Shawn or Hunter would be in here anyways.”  
Nate sighed, “Better you than them I guess.”  
Dan raised an eyebrow as he sat next to him on the bed, “Why’s that?”  
“I just wish they would understand how this is really affecting me.” Nate said.   
“Trust me, they’re trying their best.” Dan responded. “They can’t read you directly, and neither can I.”  
Nate was silent before talking, “Everything that’s happened this past month is my fault. From my breakup with Jessica, to me overdosing in the chamber, and making Shawn and Hunter a dramatic mess.”  
“We all think and do stupid shit, Nate.” Dan said. “We’re always going to look back at moments in our life and wonder why the hell we did what we did. But at the end of it all, it’s what we do with the past that matters.”  
“But my past will always come back to haunt me. With these seizures, possibly with nightmares and other PTSD crap, it’s going to be never ending.” Nate said.  
“You’re right, it may be a permanent thing.” Dan said. “But there’s also a chance that it all could be temporary. It may last longer than you think, but eventually it will go away. But you won’t know until it happens.”  
Nate looked down at Dan’s hands, which weren’t shaking. He thought back to what he said earlier, how it happens from time to time and sometimes it happens worse than other times.   
“Your hands aren’t shaking anymore…” Nate mentioned.  
“Yeah.” Dan said. “It went away after dinner.”  
“If you don’t mind me asking, how long have you had those tremors?” Nate asked.  
“As long as I can remember.” Dan responded.  
“So you were born with it?” Nate asked.  
“Not really…” Dan said. “But it developed over time, so I just had to learn to deal with it.”  
“Well, dealing with tremors are easier than dealing with seizures.” Nate remarked.  
“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t easy at first.” Dan said. “Trying to figure out how to hold things without having them fall over, and trying to eat was one of the hardest things to figure out. But eventually, it became tolerable. I know in your situation, seizures will probably never be tolerable, but at least you’ll have a better understanding of what to do when one comes and what we can do to help you.”  
As Dan explained all of that to Nate, he seemed to have more assurance than he did before. Being able to have somebody who could partially relate to what he was going through seemed to help.  
“Yeah, you’re right.” Nate nodded. “I guess I’m just still being too hard on myself after everything that’s happened…”  
“That’s perfectly alright.” Dan assured him. “And we’re here to help get you out of that mindset and hopefully make a full recovery. You just have to do your part like we’re doing ours.”  
“Yeah, I know.” Nate nodded.

He then got up off of the bed and headed out of his room, Dan following behind him. They both went into the living room, where they noticed Hunter sitting down and Shawn sitting in the dining room. Both of them looked at Nate.

“I’m sorry Shawn.” Nate said. “You were right, and I appreciate everything you’re doing to try and help me. I just need to get used to all of this now I guess.”  
Shawn got up and walked over to Nate, putting his hand on his shoulder, “Don’t worry man, I know you’re going through a lot right now. We’ll always be here for you.”  
Nate nodded, “I appreciate it.”

Shawn patted his shoulder once more before heading into his room. Hunter also got up.

“I think we all just need to rest, it’s been a hell of a day.” Hunter added.  
“Yeah, I agree.” Dan said.   
As Hunter passed them in the hallway, he whispered to Dan, “You sure you’ve got this?”  
Dan nodded, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Hunter patted Dan’s shoulder before they all went back into their rooms for the night.


	7. Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW//Small moment that may include thoughts of suicide. Skip to the dashed lines if you do not wish to read that part.

Nate opened his eyes, the sun blinding them. As he looked down, he found himself standing on grass. As he looked up and around, he noticed he was in an open field, and standing on the other side of that open field was Jessica. A blanket and basket were set up as if they were having some sort of picnic. But by the look on Jessica’s face, she did not seem happy at all. Nate already had so much anxiety seeing her in general that it only skyrocketed as he saw how unhappy, even mad, she looked.

“J-Jessica…” Nate said.   
“Why are you doing this?” Jessica asked.  
“Wh-What do you mean?” Nate asked.  
“You promised me we would be together forever!” Jessica exclaimed.   
“I know… I know I did.” Nate said.   
“Why would you lie to me like this, Nate?” Jessica asked.  
“I-I didn’t mean to…” Nate said. “I swear I was going to be with you… and then…”  
“And then what?” Jessica asked, becoming annoyed.  
“And then things happened, and I knew I couldn’t keep that promise…” Nate said. “And I’m sorry…”  
Jessica sighed and rolled her eyes, turning away from him, “Why do you have to be like the rest of them?” She asked.  
“The rest of them?” Nate asked.  
She turned and faced Nate again, “Like every other man out there? Weak, spineless, vulnerable, stupid…”  
“I-I’m not like that.” Nate responded.  
“People tell you stuff like that, but you know what I said is true.” Jessica said. “You didn’t even have the balls to tell me what exactly went wrong with our relationship!”  
“Jessica, I can explain everything, I just need time!” Nate said.  
“You’ve had all the time in the world, and you wasted it.” Jessica said. “I don’t need anymore pity from you.”

Just then, she could hear her voice echoing around him. 

“You’re weak, spineless, vulnerable, stupid…”  
“You know it’s true!”  
“I can’t believe you, Nate…”  
“Why would you lie to me?”

Nate clasped his hands onto his head, trying to block out the sounds, but they were inside of his head.

“Get out of my head…” Nate mumbled to himself. The voices wouldn’t stop. “GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” Nate screamed again, nothing happened still. 

He fell down onto the ground, tears strolling down his face, wanting all of this to end, wanting to escape wherever he was at, wanting the voices to stop.   
Moments later, he stood up again, noticing Jessica gone but her voice still speaking clear as day in his mind. He walked into the wooded areas, until he came across a cliff. The voices seemed to echo louder the closer he made his way over to the cliff, as if it was some sort of sign. 

He stopped as he reached the edge of the cliff. The voices now louder than his own thoughts, and maybe even his own voice.

“Please… just make it stop.” Nate said. He couldn’t even tell whether or not he was screaming or mumbling at this point. He looked down from the cliff, watching the water crash against the rocks beneath him. 

Just as he was about to take a step off of the cliff, he heard a male voice echoing throughout the echoes of Jessica’s voice.

“NATE!” 

At that moment, the voices stopped. He backed up from the cliff and looked around, noticing no sign of the male voice anywhere.

“NATE!” The voice echoed again, “Wake up!”

Wake up…

That’s when it hit him, that this was a dream… a dream that actually felt more like a nightmare to him.

He squeezed his eyes shut.  
\------

As he opened up his eyes, he found himself back in his bedroom, the only light source coming from the TV. His face felt cold and wet, as if he was sweating. As he turned over on his bed, he noticed Dan standing over him, his hands gripping his shoulder and back, as if he had been shaking him.

“Are you alright?” Dan asked as he let go of him.   
Relief seemed to fill Nate’s face as he was able to recollect himself, “Yeah… I-I think so.”

Nate thought about his nightmare again, about the moments where he was screaming, or at least felt like he was screaming.

“Was… Was I screaming?” Nate asked Dan.  
“Not really screaming” Dan said. “But you were loud enough to where I could hear you. So I thought I would wake you up.”  
Nate nodded, “Well… thank you for that…”  
“Do you want to talk about it?” Dan asked.  
Nate shook his head, “Not right now… maybe in the morning.”  
Dan nodded, “Well… see if you can get any more sleep…”

Nate nodded as he watched Dan sit back down in the chair across from the TV.

“I didn’t bother you or wake you up, did I?” Nate asked.  
“Nate, don’t worry about it.” Dan assured him. “We’re doing this to make sure you’re okay, and to make sure you don’t seize in your sleep.”

Nate couldn’t help but feel guilty about possibly disturbing Dan, but he didn’t want to say anything else to him. So he just laid back down and covered himself with his blanket, pretending to be asleep. He looked over at the alarm, it was 3:30 in the morning. 

He didn’t want to move or look at the TV, to show Dan that he went back to sleep. So he just watched the numbers on his alarm clock slowly change, and listened to the soft mumbling from the television. He didn’t even know what was happening on the TV, but he could tell it was one of those telemarketing ads that nobody even watches based off of how much conversation was happening.

3:34 AM

Time was moving so slowly for four minutes, but he didn’t want to fall back asleep. He didn’t want to possibly experience the same nightmare again. So he just continued watching the clock and listening to the TV. 

3:40

It felt like an hour, but he somehow managed to watch the clock up to this point, and he was going to continue to do so.

Suddenly, he heard mumbling.

“No…”

It was coming from Dan. 

Nate remained still. Was he talking to himself? Was he on the phone with somebody?

“Please don’t…”

He slowly turned in his bed until he could see Dan. He saw him slouched over on the chair, his eyes closed.

Everything was silent for another moment  
“Please…”

He could hear him silently crying. Nate didn’t know what to do. He promised Dan he would fall back asleep, but now he seems to be the one having a nightmare. Should he help Dan wake up like he helped him?

He laid there quietly for another moment before quickly and quietly getting up off of his bed. He began to quietly walk over towards Dan, but before he could reach the end of his bed, Dan sat up in his bed and woke up.

“Hey, you okay?” Dan asked.  
“Oh… y-yeah.” Nate said. “I-I just have to go to the bathroom.”

Nate quietly and pathetically walked the other way towards the bathroom. He closed the door behind him and just stood there for a few moments, not even attempting to go to the bathroom.

He didn’t know what to do. Should he tell Dan he was having a nightmare? Did Dan even know he was having one? He didn’t want to feel like a bother, especially if he fell asleep again when he went back out there.

He finally decided to stop thinking and leave the bathroom. He flushed the toilet to act like he had gone and ran the sink. He decided to wash his hands and splash water on his face to wipe off whatever sweat was left off of his face.

He then shut off the bathroom light and went back into his bed. For however long he could manage, he continued to stare at the clock like before, but then he found himself drifting off back into sleep.


	8. The Bet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay of both of my works on here. School and work have both gotten in the way! Hoping to get back in the swing of things soon!

Nate opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the alarm clock he was watching earlier. 

8:21AM

He looked at the alarm clock confused. He didn’t remember ever falling asleep. It was as if he had only blinked and the clock went from 4:01 to 8:21. 

Nate quietly turned in his bed to face the ceiling. He was still tired, but he knew at some point he had to get up. He slowly sat up in his bed, noticing Dan still asleep on the chair across from his bed. He crept up out of his bed and slowly made his way to the door, slowly and quietly opening it to not wake Dan up. As he made his way out into the hallway, he quietly closed the door behind him. 

As he made his way into the living room, he noticed Shawn sitting on the couch. 

“Good morning.” Shawn said.   
“Hey.” Nate said.   
“I take it Dan fell asleep?” Shawn asked.   
“Yeah… he did.” Nate nodded.   
“That’s alright.” Shawn said. “As long as nothing happened last night.”   
“No… nothing happened last night.” Nate fibbed, shaking his head. 

Shawn gave him a look, a look that told Nate he knew he wasn’t telling the truth. 

“Dude, really?” Nate asked.   
“I guess I’ll just ask Dan when he wakes up.” Shawn said.   
Nate sighed, “Alright fine, I did have a nightmare. But that was it.”   
“That was all you had to tell me.” Shawn said. “It’s no big deal, dude.”   
Nate sat down in the chair beside the sofa, “I know, but it still feels humiliating.”   
“It’s just how it’s gonna be for a bit.” Shawn said. “Eventually, they’ll go away as well as your seizures and everything will be okay again.”   
“Hopefully…” Nate said. “They said there’s a chance it may be permanent.”   
“Well, let’s not jump to that conclusion, alright?” Shawn asked. 

Nate nodded. There were a few moments of silence. Nate really wanted to mention to Shawn about Dan’s episode earlier. But he began to think about how that maybe wasn’t a good idea. If he said anything, Shawn would probably question Nate about why he didn’t do anything, or how it was none of his business. Or maybe they would start worrying about Dan as well. 

But before he could say anything, Dan came out into the living room. 

“Hey, good morning!” Dan said.   
“Hey man, how was everything?” Shawn asked.   
“It was pretty good.” Dan said. “Nate did have a nightmare, but that was about it.”   
“Yeah, he told me.” Shawn said. “I appreciate you looking out for him last night.”   
“It wasn’t a problem at all.” Dan said. “I’m happy to have done it.”   
“I guess it will be my turn tonight then.” Shawn said. “Unless Hunter wants to do it.”   
Nate shrugged, “It’s up to you guys.” 

Just then, Hunter came out from down the hall. 

“Good morning my dudes!” Hunter said. “I dunno about you guys, but I could really use some breakfast!”   
“Don’t tell me you want to go to the diner again…” Shawn said.   
“I mean, unless you’ve got any other ideas!” Hunter said.   
Dan rolled his eyes and smiled, “Alright. On one condition. You look after Nate tonight!”   
Hunter nodded, “Fine by me!”   
Dan looked at Shawn and Nate, “You guys wanna go?”   
Shawn signed and nodded, “Alright, I’m down.”   
“Well, I don’t think I have a choice.” Nate said. “So let’s go.” 

The four of them went out of the house and into Dan’s car, making their way over to the diner again.   
———-  
At the diner, the four of them had just finished up ordering their breakfast and Carolyn walked away from their table. 

Dan looked over at Hunter, “You know I was only joking about you looking over Nate tonight, right?”   
“No, I’m down for it!” Hunter said. “Granted, it’ll be a little weird watching someone sleep.”   
“You’ve done it to the two of us all the time.” Shawn responded. “You’ve also taken pictures!”   
“As a joke!” Hunter added.   
“Whatever, I don’t imagine you not doing it tonight.” Shawn said.   
“Well, if it makes things any better, you don’t have to watch me the whole night.” Nate said. “Dan fell asleep and nothing really happened, so…” 

Dan went wide-eyed, growing nervous, “Oh… um, yeah I kinda did. I didn’t mean to, though…”   
“Dude, don’t worry about it.” Shawn assured him.   
“I mean, I just have a habit of snoring, and I wasn’t sure whether that bothered anybody or not.” Dan claimed. 

Nate gave Dan a weird look. That entire time Dan was asleep, he never heard him snore. He only heard the moments where he talked in his sleep. Was he trying to hide this from him? 

“Hey, I snore really badly.” Hunter said. “I don’t think Nate will get any sleep tonight if I fall asleep.”   
Nate looked back at Hunter as soon as he heard his name, “Oh yeah…” Nate said. “That’s a thing that he does…”   
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure I take a big ol’ nap before the night starts.” Hunter said. “Maybe spend some time on my phone or watching TV.”   
“I already know you’re not going to stay up all night.” Shawn said.   
Nate smiled, “Yeah I don’t think he will.”   
“I have faith in him.” Dan said. “I say he’ll make it through.”   
“Can we turn this into a bet?” Hunter asked. “Maybe to motivate me?” 

Shawn signed, looking at Nate and Dan.   
“Alright, $20 each.” Shawn said. “Nate and I both say no, Hunter and Dan both say yes. Whoever wins splits the money.”   
“Alright, it’s a bet!” Dan said. 

The four of them each took out a twenty and gave it to Shawn, who would hold onto it until they got home, where he would put it on the coffee table in the living room.   
———-  
That night, Nate went into his bedroom to get ready to go to bed. Hunter came into the bedroom moments later with a console in his hands. 

“What is that?” Nate asked.   
“A video game console!” Hunter said. “Dan gave it to me. It has a shit ton of games that aren’t even available in the city!”   
“Isn’t this technically cheating?” Nate asked. “Because you both placed a bet saying you would stay awake.”   
“No!” Hunter said. “At least to me, it’s not.”   
“Well, either way I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Nate said.   
“Oh really, and why’s that?” Hunter asked.   
“Well, all the flashing lights might end up triggering my seizures.” Nate said.   
Hunter laughed, “You just want me to lose this bet!”   
“No dude, I’m dead serious.” Nate said.   
“We don’t know that for a fact though.” Hunter said.   
“Yeah, and I don’t want it to be confirmed either.” Nate said. “For my sake…”   
Hunter was silent for a moment and then sighed, “Yeah, you’re right. You’ve got a point.” 

Nate grabbed the remote and tossed it to Hunter, “You’ve got the TV to yourself though, watch whatever you wanna watch on there.” Nate said.   
“Alright, sweet.” Hunter said. 

Nate started to go under the covers and watched Hunter go through the channels on the TV. Eventually, he came across a show that interested him. Nate watched as the people on the television started shooting at zombies. Nate squirmed and moved under his covers as the scene became more graphic. He normally didn’t mind this type of stuff but for some reason now, it bothered him. 

As Nate thought about that, his mind went back to Dan. From his tremors, to his nightmares and his little lie he made back at the diner. Nate knew something was up. He didn’t want to ask Dan in case it bothered him, but he still wanted to know. 

So he came up with an idea. But that idea involved sneaking out of his room and looking around the house, specifically Dan’s room.


	9. Discovery

Around 2am Hunter finally turned the TV off and the room went dark. Whether or not this meant he was going to sleep or not, Nate didn’t know. Maybe Hunter is so determined to win his portion of money that he’s going to try and stay awake this whole time. Nate was hoping he would lose, so that he could hopefully leave the room.

However, about twenty minutes later, he could hear Hunter snoring. 

Part of him was happy, because him and Shawn won the bet. But the other part of him was happy because he could finally sneak out of the room. 

Nate quietly got up off of the bed and walked over to the door. He slowly turned the knob and opened the door, a small ray of light showing from the hallway, but it didn’t seem to phase Hunter any. Nate didn’t open the door all the way, he only opened it to where he could squeeze through and get out before closing the door behind him. 

He walked down the hallway and into the living room, nobody was there. Everybody was in their bedrooms. 

Nate passed the living room and turned down the second hallway leading to Dan’s room. Nate hesitated, but then grabbed onto the doorknob, slowly and quietly twisting it open. The smallest creak from the door made Nate jolt, but then everything was silent again. 

Nate peered his head into Dan’s bedroom, first noticing Dan’s bed. He seemed to be asleep and under the covers. He was quiet, and didn’t seem to be talking or anything like he did the night before. 

As he opened the door and peered his head over to see his room some more, he froze, his heart raced and he went wide-eyed as he saw a large chamber in the corner of his room. 

It was an HPMG chamber. 

Nate quickly closed the door, not even paying attention to how loudly or how softly he closed it.

Why was there a chamber in his room? Him, Hunter and Shawn got away from the city to get away from that thing! Knowing it was there now… he wouldn’t even know what to do! 

As his mind began racing with thoughts, he began seeing flash images in his head again. 

Oh no, not now. 

Nate quickly stumbled down the hallway, trying to make his way down to the living room and hopefully back in his room again before he began seizing. 

“Please… not right now…” Nate mumbled. 

His head suddenly began spinning uncontrollably and he couldn’t have any recollection of where he was at that moment. 

Nate didn’t know what to do, so he just continued to stumble forward until he felt himself trip over something, he could hear something shatter and then he blacked out.  
———-  
Nate opened his eyes, everything and everybody around him was fuzzy, and his head was still spinning. He could hear a conversation, but he couldn’t tell who was saying what. 

“What do you mean you didn’t see him walk out?”  
“Alright I admit it, I fell asleep but I thought he was asleep too!”  
“Not too long before I heard the crashing, I heard my door close.”  
“Wait… was he in your room?”  
“I-I don’t know, but if he was, he might have seen it.”  
“That’s not good.”  
“I told you this was a bad idea!”  
“Hunter, shut up! None of us knew this was going to happen!” 

Just then, one of them leaned over towards Nate and realized he was awake. From what he could tell, it was Shawn. 

“Nate, hey! Can you hear us?” Shawn asked.  
Nate wanted to respond, but couldn’t.  
“He’s not responding, what do we do?” Hunter asked. 

Just then, Nate blacked out again.  
———  
Everything was dark around Nate, but he could hear another voice in his head. 

Jessica.

“Nate… this is your chance.” Jessica said. “We can be together again… forever…”  
“No…” Nate said. “Not again…”  
“You won’t be able to resist this, Nate.” Jessica claimed. “No matter how hard you try…” 

There was silence for a moment before she spoke again. 

“Just come with me… everything can be the way it was before…”  
———  
Nate opened his eyes. He found himself lying in the sofa of the living room. He felt his head throbbing in pain. As he went to touch it, he could feel a bandage over it. 

As he looked over to his left, his eyes widened as he saw the coffee table all shattered. He could then recall tripping and falling onto something. That’s probably what he landed on. 

Shawn went over to him, “Hey are you alright?”  
Nate looked over at Shawn and nodded, “I-I think so…” 

Nate slowly sat up on the sofa, Shawn sitting next to him, “What the hell happened?”  
“I guess I had another seizure.” Nate shrugged, trying to play dumb.  
“No I mean, how did you end up in the living room?” Shawn asked. “Do you remember?” 

Nate was silent for a moment. He didn’t want to tell Shawn the truth, but based off of what he heard earlier, it seems as if they already know. 

Nate sighed, “I fucked up, that’s what I did.”  
“How’s that?” Shawn asked.  
“With everything that happened with Dan, I just seemed too curious.” Nate explained.  
“What do you mean?” Shawn asked.  
“Between his tremors, and his nightmares…” Nate continued.  
“Nightmares?” Shawn interrupted.  
Nate nodded, “Last night when he was looking after me, while he was asleep, I could hear him talking and crying in his sleep, and I could tell at the diner earlier he was trying to lie and say he was snoring when I know he doesn’t.”  
“And you just let it happen?” Shawn asked.  
Nate sighed, “I knew you were going to do this.”  
“Do what?” Shawn asked.  
“Ask me why I didn’t wake him up when he had his nightmare,” Nate argued. “Ask me why I went into his room earlier and invaded his privacy, all that crap.”  
“So you did go into his room?” Shawn asked.  
“Yeah, I went in there.” Nate nodded.  
“And I’m guessing you saw the chamber?” Shawn asked.  
“You know about the chamber?” Nate said.  
Shawn was silent for a moment but then nodded, “Yeah, I knew…”  
“Then why in the hell did you bring me here?” Nate asked. “What’s the point of being away from those chambers in our apartment when there is one in this house? In Dan’s room?”  
Shawn put his hand on Nate’s shoulder, “Because… you’re not the only one who has been through all of this.” 

Nate was silent. He looked back at Dan’s room and then looked back at Shawn. Everything began to make sense to him now. 

“Why didn’t you guys tell me?” Nate asked.  
“Well, we didn’t know how you would feel.” Shawn said. “And Hunter and I thought Dan would say something, but we could tell stuff was coming back to haunt him…” 

Nate put his hands to his face, “God I feel like such an asshole…”  
Shawn patted his back, “Don’t be… if Hunter and I had told you before, I don’t think tonight would have happened.”  
“I probably would’ve been a stubborn asshole about it either way.” Nate said.  
“True.” Shawn shrugged. “But at least we wouldn’t have a shattered coffee table.”  
“How bad was my head?” Nate asked.  
“You somehow didn’t need stitches, which was good considering how badly your head was bleeding.” Shawn said. 

Nate then looked back over at Dan’s room and back to Shawn, “I’m gonna go in and talk to him.”  
“You sure you’re gonna be okay?” Shawn asked.  
Nate nodded, “I feel fine.” 

Nate slowly got up off of the couch and headed over into Dan’s room.


End file.
